


The Anomaly

by bluebismuth



Series: TMA Fic (OC-related) [2]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Attempted Murder, Canon-Typical Elias Douchery, Gen, Original Character(s), Original Non-Binary Character - Freeform, Season 2 Finale (The Magnus Archives), fatphobia, unreality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23073115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluebismuth/pseuds/bluebismuth
Summary: Avery reluctantly followed Elias up to his office, their arms crossed. Was he going to fire them for helping out in the Archives? That was really all they could figure out, but honestly, wouldn't it be better for the Institute if they helped once their own work was finished? They got along well with the other assistants, and Jon didn't seem to mind them—at least, from what they could tell.Once they were both inside his office, Elias shut the door behind them and sat down on his desk. "I'd like to talk to you about your...recent activities, down at the Archives."
Series: TMA Fic (OC-related) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1629961
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	The Anomaly

Elias didn’t like to call people to his office very much. Aside from being in there for their interview, Avery hadn’t been inside. 

They’d been sorting a statement they just recorded back into the 2014 section, when they felt someone tap their shoulder. They jumped, their shoulders stiffening until they turned around to see Elias. “Come meet me in my office, Avery,” he simply said, gesturing for them to follow him. Reluctantly, they placed the rest of the statements they were going to sort on a nearby table before following him.

“Uh...what is this about, Mr. Bouchard?” They hated it when people told them they needed to talk—there was always the preemptive dread of something terrible.

"We can't talk about it here," he simply replied. 

_"Great."_

They reluctantly followed Elias up to his office, their arms crossed. Was he going to fire them for helping out in the Archives? That was really all they could figure out, but honestly, wouldn't it be better for the Institute if they helped once their own work was finished? They got along well with the other assistants, and Jon didn't seem to mind them—at least, from what they could tell.

Once they were both inside his office, Elias shut the door behind them and sat down on his desk. "I'd like to talk to you about your...recent activities, down at the Archives."

Avery groaned. "Look, Mr. Bouchard, I'm just trying to help. I get my work done really early, sometimes even more my lunch break. I figured helping the Archives staff with organization and recording statements and stuff would help get it back in shape faster, and it keeps me occupied. I-I mean, ask the assistants, ask _Jon,_ I haven't been hindering anything."

He raised an eyebrow. "And why do you think I'm going to reprimand you for it?"

"Because why else would you tell me to come to my office to tell me something like that? I dunno if this is just how things are done in England, but you could've just told me I was doing good without interrupting my work too much." They paused. "Unless you're gonna tell me otherwise, for whatever reason."

Elias leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I think you need some...perspective, Avery. Just because you work here doesn't mean you need to know all the intricacies of what's done here and why."

"Isn't the Archives the entire reason why the Institute was built in the first place?"

"Perhaps. But that doesn't mean everyone who works for the Institute needs to know what's in them. Or rather, _should_ know."

This was getting weirder by the minute. "Then...I'll probably ask Lucille if she can start giving me more work to do—”

“Do you remember fat chicken, Avery?”

They sucked in a breath. Christ, anyone who was fat and tried to date in college knew what that meant, and they could guarantee that at least a majority of those people had actually been a part of it. They knew they had been.

“Such a cruel game, isn’t it? The lengths people will go to, tricking someone into thinking they’re in a happy, stable relationship, while their partner is mocking them behind your back. Do you remember when you saw your now ex-boyfriend’s lock screen? Zachary, wasn’t it? The sadness, the _anger_ you felt when you saw texts from his friends, asking about the, ahem, ‘fat chick.’”

Avery felt frozen in place. They hadn’t told anyone working here about that, especially not Elias. “Why do you know that?”

Elias seemed like he hadn’t heard them. “It felt so awful, knowing he was stringing you along, knowing that he was disgusted by you and your body, wasn’t it?”

“Shut _up._ What is your fucking point?!”

“But you were lucky that it was only that one time, right? So many others have been tricked, manipulated time after time by people who had nothing better to do. You didn’t have it that bad, right?”

Static started to build, and Avery’s tongue felt heavy in their mouth. Even if they wanted to say something, they felt like they couldn’t. The static was playing right into their ears, and it blocked out everything...everything, except Elias’s voice. His voice and his _eyes,_ piercing green right into their soul.

Their mind started to flash. Images of three of their other exes, laughing at their phone or with friends—friends that were certainly more their ex’s friends rather than theirs. Bragging about how far they got with Avery before they “had” to back out. They didn’t remember any of their eyes being the same piercing green as Elias’s, but they were still there, boring into Avery and carving holes in their heart. 

Somehow, they knew he wasn’t lying.

They were suddenly brought back to reality, although everything in their field of view except themself and Elias were covered in a heavy filter of static. His eyes were practically glowing green as he stared at them. While trying to check if they were even real anymore, Avery felt something wet on their cheeks. The liquid was clear. They didn’t even know they were crying.

“I’m surprised you didn’t notice, honestly. I thought you said you were attentive to details on your resume.”

 _“Shut up!”_ Avery clenched their fists. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t normal. Was he making them hallucinate or something? They’d never had hallucinations before, and they certainly couldn’t think of anything that would’ve brought something so vivid on so suddenly. “Shut the fuck up! Whatever you’re trying to do to me, it won’t work!” As they yelled, their voice became increasingly clear, less muffled, less like their throat wasn’t hurting for nothing. “What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?! Why are you doing this to me?!”

Elias, ever so calm, ever so _in control,_ simply grinned as Avery clutched at their head. “Hm. You’re putting up more resistance than I expected. Although, you have already been touched by the Stranger. With a side of Flesh, of course, that always seems to be involved with cannibalism. Perhaps it was my own error that I thought you would be more susceptible.”

Their eyes widened. “What...what?” They backed away, eventually meeting the door. They felt paralyzed, like Elias would strike them down if they tried to leave. Did he listen to the statements? Maybe it would’ve made sense, but… “What are you _talking_ about? There—there wasn’t any weird flesh with Crestfallen. I _know_ that.”

He huffed. “So long as you stay quiet, I won’t have to keep my secrets. But, considering you refused the first time, I must use... _alternative methods.”_ Elias started drumming his fingers on the desk. “You shouldn’t have gotten involved, Avery. I Knew from the moment you walked in my office for your interview that you had been marked by two Entities. I thought it wouldn’t be much of a risk; that you would stay in your place and keep to the finance department like your job description implied.”

Avery tried to grasp the doorknob, but it felt so slippery, they couldn’t get a proper grip on it. Still, Elias continued. “I didn’t even see the harm in letting you make your statement about Crestfallen to Jon. I figured you wouldn’t want to be involved with it. And yet, you started helping out in the Archives. Recording statements, filing things away, doing investigations...I must admit, I was surprised to hear your voice on the tapes.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, your time at the Archives is ending. So I will give you _one_ final chance. If you accept, you’ll walk out the door unharmed. You will _never_ set foot in the Archives again. You will _never_ discuss anything about the Archives with your coworkers. I will give you the mercy of letting you talk to the Archive staff, but _never_ about anything related to their work. Is that understood, _Anomaly?”_ His voice was dripping with malice at the odd namesake.

**_“No!_** I don’t _care_ what the alternative is. You aren’t fucking taking this away from me, and given what you just did, I don’t _fucking_ care what you try to do to me.” They could feel their vision turning red from anger. 

“That’s a shame.” Elias opened a drawer in his desk, and they let out a shaky gasp when they saw the glint of a knife’s blade being pulled out. “Goodbye, Anomaly.” 

Avery ran out of the room before he could even get out of his chair. 

_The tunnels._ They remembered the tunnels. They didn’t know if they could leave the Institute, but maybe they could hide in the tunnels. They didn’t know _what_ was down there, but it couldn’t be worse than Elias chasing them down with a knife in his hand. 

They raced back down to the Archives and locked the door behind them, not knowing how much time they had before Elias broke it down. 

They found the trapdoor leading into the tunnels easy enough, but trying to open it was another story. Their panic made them shake, and they could hear _something_ banging against the Archives door when they finally opened it. 

An endless dark space stared back at them. They let out a shaky sigh and dug their phone out of their pocket, turning on the flashlight before going inside. 

When they closed the trapdoor above them, Avery made a silent prayer to whatever gods existed that Elias wouldn’t break in. 


End file.
